Albert, You have some interesting questions.
What does your Realtor say?

I encourage you, as much as the Trulia Voices help is well-intended, it is not a substitute for professional representation. If you are not working with a Realtor, I encourage you to think about a professional to represent your interests.

This a big investment. What if you make a mistake?

Good luck.

Albert -

In Santa Clara county those two items are customarily paid for by the seller. If the REO seller does not want to, they simply leave it out on the "real" contract that comes back. Normally REO seller will send their own contract back for signatures which will negate the one your agent wrote on CAR or PRDS. Read this new contract carefully. Saying this, I have not had an issue with having REO sellers pay "customary" charges.

Also note that many times the REO seller does not choose a local title/escrow company. Each area is different so it will be important for your agent to work closely with the escrow and title officer of the assigned company. It is actually buyer's choice to choose these professionals as well, but REO sellers choose.

Good luck,
CJ

Albert,
These items are typically allocated according to what is "Normal and Customary" for the County in which the property is located i.e.
Santa Clara County the Seller normally pays both Escrow and CLTA Owners Title Insurance.
Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco Counties both are normally paid by the Buyer.
Be aware that if you have a mortgage there is an additional ALTA Lenders Title Insurance which is always paid by the Buyer.
Related to these fees you need to be aware that with the sole exception of San Francisco County all Counties have a $1:10 per $1,000 of purchase price Transfer Tax.
San Francisco County and City have a combined Transfer Tax of $5:00 to $7:50 per $1,000 depending on Sale Price.
Many but not all other Bay Area Cities also have what they call a Conveyance Tax which varies widely from Oakland at $15:00 per $1,000 to several others at $3:30 per $1,000. Normal Custom is for these fees to be split 50/50 between Buyers and Sellers.
All of these items need to be completed on the Purchase Contract.
If you are dealing with with a Short Sale/REO property the Bank may ognore all local customs and insist on all these costs being allocated in whatever manner they wish. I personally always complete the Purchase Contract on Normal and Customary terms and let my clients know that these may be changed on the final Contract required by the Bank.
You should require that your agent give you a detailed Net Sheet with these and all other numbers filled out before signing any offer.
Bill

I read through an offer prepared on CARS form for an typical REO / multiple bids house, and was wondering about those 2 items.

Since bank normally ask for best and final offer on REO, how does asking the bank to pay for those items affect the competitive of the offer?

Albert, It is customary in Santa Clara County for the seller to pay these items. BUT NOT today. They have always been a negotiable term though. Everything is right? Well not when you are dealing with foreclosures and short sales. The banks have the hammer and they use it well.

Give us some more information with regard to question

Michael http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com

Title insurance is paid for by the buyer. The Buyer is buying insurance to guarantee that they are purchasing the property free of any encumbrances or liens. In the event any liens are discovered in the future, the insurance kicks in and hopefully everything is worked out.

Escrow can mean multiple things. The seller will escrow $5,000 for the roof repair. The buyer will escrow $2,000 towards the purchase of the house. I am not sure what you mean with this question.

Regards,

Joe